


After All These Years...

by Femshep (ACLC114)



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Major Character Injury, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-13
Updated: 2015-07-22
Packaged: 2018-04-04 04:09:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4125079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ACLC114/pseuds/Femshep
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a horrible accident in the field leave third year student Yang Xiao Long expelled from Beacon Academy. She spends her next few years avoiding her former team, who she believes still harbors resentment for her and the horrible deed she commited.</p><p>After nearly a decade, team RWBY reunites in Atlas. The girls find their long lost teammate as a Police Special Tasks Operator, defending the citizens from each other rather than the creatures of grimm.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One: The Good Old Days

Yang sprinted head on at hands down the largest nevermore she had ever seen, drawing back her right fist for the penultimate attack. She and her partner, Blake, had spent nearly five minutes weakening the beast, far longer than it should have taken for third years at Beacon such as themselves to finish the job. The blonde threw her fist forward, cracking the grimm's beak like broken glass. She leapt back to dodge the swipe of a broken wing when the comm link in her ear projected her sister's voice, "Yang, Weiss and I will be there in thirty seconds. Just hang in there."

"We'll be done by the time you get here, sis," Yang responded with a smirk. The brawler tucked down and rolled under a second swing by the despirate bird. She raised her fists to deliver the knockout blow and charged the beast, which attempted to take off via crippled wings.

"I'll bring it down from back here!" Blake called from the other side of the ink-black monster. Yang's eyes shot open at the sudden realization that Blake couldn't see the take off gestures from behind, but by the time she could do anything to stop her partner it was too late.

Already mid-attack and in midair, Yang couldn't stop herself from striking low at the ascending nevermore, and with Blake standing on the other side, disaster struck. 

Yang's gauntlets fired their rounds, but with the grimm too high to hit, they struck the next target in their wielder's path. "Blake!" Yang cried as she blasted the black-haired girl backwards into a tree. The taller huntress ran after her partner and skidded on her knees beside the unconscious faunus. "Damn it, Blake, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Yang tried to stop the rapid flow of blood with her hands, but achieved nothing save for crimson stained sleeves.

"Yang, what's going on down there?" Ruby asked as she dove from the VTOL, landing on the slow-flying grimm and planting Cresent Rose in its back.

"Hold on, Blake. The ship's here. You'll be fine," the third year sobbed, picking up her partner in a bridal carry. "Just hold on."  
"Land the ship; I think something's wrong," the Schnee Dust Company heiress ordered the pilot from her seat in the jump bay. As the air ship touched the grassy forest floor, Yang rushed her partner inside and shouted for the pilot to get to the closest Vale hospital. "Oh, god! What happened?"

"I swear I didn't mean to. I missed the damned nevermore and- and-" Yang couldn't choke out the words, her voice replaced by sobs and eyes filled with tears.

"Step on it!" Weiss yelled. Ruby jumped in the open door just in time for take off.  
Blake remained in her own sweet, little realm of oblivion, an acceptable reaction after loosing well over a pint of blood; her especially low body weight hardly aided the situation. Her ears flickered under her bow each time Yang begged her forgiveness. Blood seeped between Yang's fingers, which seemed the best option. The VTOL's first aid kit held nothing more useful than a band-aid.

By the time the ship arrived on the roof of the hospital, Blake had lost enough blood to kill her. The medics rushed out and brought the Faunus in on a yellow gurney. They cut her coat, shirt, and bra off to bandage the gushing wound. Whether by miracle or her own incredible strength, Blake's heart still maintained a lagging, yet present beat and her lungs drawing faint and shallow breaths.

In her mind, Blake saw her partner's punch hit her square in the chest, accompanied by two rounds of steel, one of shot, the other a slug. She watched the video over   
and over until everything began to fade...

A powerful jolt surged through her body.

"It didn't work. Hit her again," one of the doctors instructed his counterpart before another electric shock stopped the faunus' now irregular heartbeat. After a painstaking second and a half the monitor over her head beeped in a steady rhythm. The doctors, after controlling the bleeding, returned to stitching the slug wound.

**********

"Miss Xiao Long, though it pains me to do this," Professor Ozpin began from behind his desk as Yang stood idly at attention. "For injuring and putting your partner in a coma, you are hereby expelled from Beacon Academy. You will have the day to pack your things and say goodbye to your friends."

"Expelled?!" Yang blurted, even though she knew she deserved far worse. "I understand." Yang walked out of the office, head hung low and eyes tearing. "Damn it!"   
She punched a metal locker, denting the door in so deep that it fell off of the hinges. She stuffed her belongings into a suitcase and gave Weiss and Ruby suffocating bear hugs. "Bye guys. It's been fun."

"What are you going to do?" Ruby inquired.

"I have three years of training at the best combat school in the world under my belt; I'm sure I'll think of something."  
**********  
Weeks passed, then months, then years. Yang stared at the picture of her and Blake holding up a first place trophy at their second Vytal Tournament before tucking it back into her leather wallet and turning the keys in the yellow motorcycle. She fastened in her high caliber revolver at her waist and nine millimeter pistol at her ankle. The Atlas Police Department badge, which she carried proudly, rested in the left chest pocket of her tan coat. The yellow t-shirt baring her emblem squeezed just a bit too tight, but she treasured the article like the most precious of gems. As she pulled out of the garage in south Atlas, Yang spoke to her dispatcher and close friend through the golden-yellow helmet's police radio.

"Who am I after today, Velvet?"

"A mobster by the name of Russel Thrush, a vanguard and number runner for the Foreverfall Triad. I am tracking him through satellite now; he is at the Cardinal Poker House."

"What's the payout?"

"Thirty five hundred lien. Dead or alive."


	2. Chapter Two: A Chance Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is somewhat self explanatory.

Blake unloaded Gambol Shroud's clip into a beowolf and watched the monster topple to the ground at her feet. The two remaining beasts fell beside their kinsman as the huntress eviscerated them with ease. "That was the last of them," Blake called out to Ruby and Weiss, both of whom stood behind stalks of wheat taller than themselves. The golden field proved a challenging setting in which to hunt the short beowolves. The trio made an auspicious and world renowned hunting team, which now operated all over the globe to eradicate the monstrosities known as grimm.

"Just a pack of beowolves? That's it? Seems like an awful lot of trouble to send a Vale team to the Atlas badlands," Ruby pointed out, suspicion for their employer evident in her already uneasy tone.

"Perhaps we should sweep the area once more," the now rather tall (but still shortest of the three) Weiss offered.

"It's getting dark. We should go and find a place to stay in the city for the night. We can sweep up tomorrow," Blake countered in monotone. Turning towards the great walled city of Atlas, Blake sheathed her weapon and pushed away a stray lock of hair hanging over her face. The city laid a five minutes' walk through the field of wheat. The journey to the walls passed by uneventfully and quietly, the same could not be said for the trek within the borders...

As the trio stepped off the curb to cross a seemingly carless street in the middle of south Atlas, a black van darted by, nearly painting the pavement with huntress remains, three bullet holes clearly visible in the back window. A bright yellow sport motorcycle darted by with no more than a second's delay.

"Asshole!" Ruby shouted at both drivers.

"The nerve of those guys... I remember this town being a little more civilized," Weiss snorted angrily.

"Did somebody shoot that car?" Blake asked referring to the damaged rear. The thundering crack of gunfire followed by a deafening boom two blocks down the road answered her question. "Come on," she urged, chasing the echoes with lightning speed. After rounding a corner, Blake spotted a serpentining set of skid marks on the asphalt, leading to the black van, the entire front half of which had been destroyed in a head-on collision with a steel support beam. The street bike lay propped against its kickstand on the empty sidewalk, its blue and white law enforcement insignia shimmering atop the seat cowl. Not a soul resided in the area; whether the car chase had scared away the populace or if the area had been vacant to begin with remained unknown.

The huntresses sprinted towards the sight of the crash and peered in the windows. A fourth and fifth shot had punctured the cabin from the side, killing the driver. The passengers in the car had all survived the impact and appeared to have escaped the totaled vehicle. The construction site made of nothing but steel beams and plywood flooring into which the car collided stood ten stories off the ground and spanned nearly half the block.

"Bitch! Get off of me!" A gruff voice fell from above.

"I'll be back to deal with you later. Be a sweetie and don't go anywhere," an awfully familiar voice giggled. As the trio climbed the temporary construction stairs, they found a tall, muscular wolf faunus wearing a leather White Fang jacket and jeans sat zip-tied to one of the supports at the top of the steps.

"Should we do something about that?" Ruby turned to her partner, who shrugged an 'I don't know.'

"That bike had a police decal. Probably busted this guy," Blake theorized. "Let's keep going." The group arduously continued upwards, flight after flight of metal steps until they reached the roof. Two more men brandishing handguns and baring the faunus rebels' decoration stood teetering on the ledge.

"You three, freeze!" One of the thugs ordered, prompting the huntresses to reveal their own weapons.

"Stand back and let a professional handle this," a tall, lean woman stepped forward from behind the trio, in an unbuttoned, tan tailcoat that barely revealed the matte gold crop top beneath. She wore brown, fingerless gloves and brown knee-high/combat boot hybrids. A cobalt yellow motorcycle helmet with tinted visor masked the woman's face. She gripped a sizeable revolver in one hand and a pistol in the other, both polished silver.

With a running start, the woman charged the radicals, who open fired. She ducked and weaved across the twenty foot gap between her starting position and the ledge. After sixteen total bullets had been fired by the faunus crooks, only three made contact with the mysterious biker, all of which bounced off the aramid helmet.

The woman delivered a near bone-shattering kick to the closer thug's side and pistol whipped him in the back of the head. He doubled over in pain and would surely not try and stand any time soon. The biker pivoted to face the other gangster and kneed him in the gut. He bent forward as his opponent shoved the pistol into his crotch.

"Your choice, pal, surrender or retire to a peaceful life a eunuch."

"I'll die before you-"

BANG!

"Fuck!" The thug hit the ground with a thud, his pants stained crimson. With all the strength he could muster, the faunus lurched up at his adversary and gripped the muzzle of the barrel. The biker, on reflex, squeezed the trigger again. This time the White Fang rebel fell with an oozing hole in his head.

"Vel," The enigmatic biker pushed a button inside her helmet to speak through the headset. "All targets neutralized. Two dead, two injured." She listened for a moment before nodding in confirmation. "Got it. I'll see you in few hours." She turned to the baffled girls standing by the steps. "You girls enjoy the show?" The woman lifted the helmet from her head allowing long, blonde locks to unfurl over her shoulders. A flawless, untanned face sporting shimmering lilac eyes smirked at the onlookers.

"Yang?" Blake sputtered incredulously.

"Guys, I'm so happy to see you." The blonde wrapped all three of her long, lost teammates into a suffocating bear hug. "What the hell are you doing in Atlas?"

"Hunting job outside the walls. What have you been doing all this time?"

"It's a really long story. I could tell you guys over dinner."

The faunus turned to the shorter girls asking for confirmation.

"We'd love to, Yang," Weiss said, still in shock.

"Awesome! My place, tonight. My roommate is a kick ass cook."

"So what the hell was that just now?" Ruby questioned her older sister. Yang responded by pulling out her black, lether wallet and handing it over. The shorter woman unfolded it, revealing a silver badge and ID.

"You're a cop?!"

"Yeah... Well, kind of. I'm what they call a Special Tasks Operator. They call me when the regular cops need the really dangerous guys brought in. I get paid by the job and most of my work is off record and covered up. I'm basically a bounty hunter."

"That's badass. What else do you do for the APD?"

"I'll tell you everything tonight, but only if you guys tell everything you've been up to."

"Deal."

"I'd love to continue this conversation, but we need to go find a hotel for the night. It's nearly sundown," Weiss explained.

"The hell you're sleeping in a hotel. You guys are staying with me."

"That's sweet but-"

"I'm not giving you a choice." Yang practically dragged her former teammates to her apartment. The immense, glass rectangle stood seventy five stories high, dwarfing Beacon Tower. She parked her bike in the building's garage and ushered the crew and all of their luggage into the elevator. Weiss, standing closest to the control panel, asked,

"Which floor?"

"Penthouse, bitches," Yang cackled as her foil punched the button labled '75.' When the elevator reached the highest point in the building, Yang stepped out and waved a white keycard in front of a scanner. The silver door slid open revealing a massive, modern style, luxurious array of high end furniture and decorations. Photos and colorful adornments countered the wall paint's dark gray. A short set of steps rose to the bedrooms. Three couches, one of red, another of white, and the last of blue formed a semi-circle around an enormous flat screen television that easily broke six feet. All eyes eventually fell of the piece de resistance: the lack of a wall. Instead the entire far bank of the apartment was (almost) invisible glass. The window wall spanned the entire width and height of the penthouse.

"Woah." Ruby stepped up the glass and gazed out over the city.

"Best view in all of Atlas," Yang boasted as she joined her little sister and placed an arm on her shoulder.

"Since when do cops make this kind of cash?"

"They don't, but Special Tasks Operaters make a killing."

"Why haven't we heard about this gig? And more importantly, why don't I have this gig."

"Well, a lot of us don't think it's worth the money. There are less than a hundred of us in a city of thirty million people and one of us is killed every other month. It's a dangerous job, way more so than being a regular cop."

"Blake, Ruby, Weiss, is that you?" An accented voice came from the steps. Wearing a brown bed jacket and slacks descended a short rabbit faunus with long, brown hair.

"Velvet? You're Yang's roommate?"

"And her handler. I suppose she explained to you our occupation."

"Velvet," Yang chirped, "I found them on the job today."

"It's great to see you all. It's been too long."

"I told them they could stay with us until they go back to Vale."

"That's great. I'll get dinner started."

"Why don' t you two help her out." Yang glanced at Ruby and Weiss. "Blake and I have some... Unresolved issues." The shorter partner pair followed the faunus into the kitchen as instructed. As soon as the door closed, Blake smacked Yang across the face with a brutal backhand, knocking the taller girl back a few steps. "Shit, Blake." The blonde clutched her left cheek, which sported a scarlet outline of the faunus' hand. "You know what? I deserved that."

"That wasn't for the incident. That was for leaving me." Tears started to well up in the dark-haired girl's eyes. "I waited for you to come back to me for six years. Six years, Yang. I loved you more than anything and you just up and left before I woke up."

"I thought you wanted me gone after what I did. I couldn't stand to face you," The brawler sobbed.

"Want you gone? You were the love of my life. I woke up a week after and you were gone. Nobody knew where you went or if you were even alive. Would it have killed you to send a postcard or something?"

"I really am sorry. I don't suppose you'd let me take you anywhere you want to go tomorrow night. Just the two of us."

"This doesn't mean we're back together... But it's a start."


	3. Chapter Three: Catching Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang explains just what the hell she's been up to these past few years. The story is not a pretty one.

A/N: I'm still looking for BETA readers to proofread. Until somebody does it, I promise y'all are going to spot mistakes as I typed most of this on my phone. If you help me, you get access to each chapter days before it's released.

**********

To say that Yang had aged well would earn the Understatement of the Year Award. Girls dreamed of that kind of form and figure, but all paled in comparison to this goddess. Her form carried plenty of muscle while keeping her mesomorph build in tact. Her thin waist made the hourglass shape between broad shoulders and hips. Her ever perky breasts naturally matured fully and sizeably, and her rear remained quite impressive since her time at beacon as well. Her face had been sculpted by master artists from her fair skin tone to her eyes crafted from lilac gems.

Blake, not a disappointing fetch herself, caught herself staring at her former partner multiple times throughout dinner.

Stop looking at her like that. Blake ordered herself each time she ogled the blonde. She left your ass and wants you back? She's going to have to better than look unbelievably beautiful and unknowingly seduce you with each word she speaks. Over and over Blake reminded herself that Yang abandoned her and she wouldn't take the blonde back so easily.

"Then a few months after I started hunting solo, I got in way over my head... a mistake that almost killed me. That day, about two years after I left Vale, brought my hunting career to a screeching halt..."

**********

Yang gracefully dove into a roll, out of the oversized stinger's path. The poisoned tip of the death stalker's tail bried itself into the dirt, providing the huntress more than enough time to unload her gauntlets into the beast's face. "Come on, you oversized stink bug! You can do better than that," the blonde warrior taunted as she hastily reloaded. She threw several explosive punches, weaving between the bone-crushing pincers.

After flailing its claws about, unable to hit its agile foe, the massive creature finally swatted Yang away. Knocked backwards but a mere two meters, Yang bounced back with even more ferocity.

"Is that all you got?" Yang delivered the knockout punch to back of her adversary's head. As the muscular, yet curvaceous warrior dusted herself off, she gloated over her fallen enemy, she muttered to herself. "I flew halfway across Remnant for this job; the least these things could do is make this a challenge."

Suddenly, a distant screech penetrated Yang's ears at the same time as the ground beneath her feet began to rumble.

"That doesn't sound good."

As quickly as they had began, the oddities ceased, leaving Yang in the midst of unnerving silence. Yang's eyes darted every which way, frantically scanning the surrounding forest. When her visual survey yielded nothing of a result, the huntress decided to wait away from the nearby clearings where large grimm possessed the advantage. Each second she sat in silence pierced her like a dagger of anticipation and anxiousness.

Without warning a gigantic, black snake's head lurched at the huntress in sync with a speeding nevermore swooping down. Yang dove for safety, avoiding death, but at the cost of her left foot.

Yang screamed out in pain as blood poured from her ankle. The King Taijitu's dark head flicked it's tongue, which dripped the red blood of his wounded prey. The golden haired 'field amputee' made an attempt at standing, but only succeeded in falling on her face.

The nevermore had climbed back into the sky only to fly back in at Yang's head. Yang used her good leg to push herself into cover behind a thick oak tree, which protected her long enough for the huntress to reach a devastating epiphany,

"I'm gonna fucking die here." Yang repeated the cruel words over and over. "I'm gonna fucking die here. I'm gonna fucking die here... But not without a... a fight." The blood loss smacked the girl in the face like a brick wall; she could not stand and her vision faded in and out of a sickening blur. The noble woman fumbled with the radio in her ear until she finally mashed the 'speak' button. "Anybody on this channel... I don't know if you can hear me... This... This is Yang Xiaouum Lonn." Her speech even faltered from the blood faucet leaking onto the grass. "I need... help." Yang gave up on crying for help and tipped over on her side to unload her last remaining rounds into the double-headed snake, to no avail.

**********

Yang snapped upward, surrounded by white. All of the pain had dissipated and her left foot sat next to the right where it had always been, the only thing missing was Ember Celica. "What the hell?" The gorgeous woman stood up and tested her joints; everything moved painlessly with perfect normality. "Where am I?"

"Is that really important? You should be glad that you're okay," A familiar voice said behind Yang, who spun on her heel to face a dark haired woman in a navy blue outfit and black bow.

"Blake?" Yang ran forwards and threw her arms around her former partner. "Is it really you?"

"Sorry. No."

"What do you mean? Wait," the huntress glanced around at the textureless, shapeless, pure white ground, walls, and ceiling. "Am I dead?"

"Not quite. We are in the gray area between life and death. Inside your head. You only see me now because your mind created me. I can appear..."

"...As anyone," I slightly higher pitched voice finished Blake's sentence as the white haired fencer Weiss Schnee placed a hand on Yang's shoulder from behind. Yang once again turned to spot her spectral friend. "There is not quite a fine line between life and death as most people would think, but once you step into oblivion, you're decision is final."

"Decision? I can choose to live or die."

"Exactally," Yang's younger sister, Ruby, said from just out of view. "But choose wisely and quickly. You're in a hospital now, the doctors are trying to revive your body, and if you don't wake up soon, you'll lose this chance that very few people get."

"What's the point? Everyone who cared about me is just a memory. I haven't seen my team in years and they probably want me dead after what I did."

"Maybe. And you may never find out no matter which choice you make here."

"Is that supposed to make me pick life?"

"Not really." Once again, Weiss appeared, "I am just here to show you both options."

"I don't care about going back. I think deep down, I've wanted to die since the day I hurt Blake."

"Ah, yes. This all goes back to her. Every argument for either side always travels back to Blake in some way or another."

"She's the only one I have any will left for, but she hates me."

"So go make amends." The beautiful faunus gently placed a hand on Yang's cheek.

"I don't know how!"

"You might figure it out, or not." Blake stepped back as Ruby stood on Yang's other side.

"But you need to choose now," Weiss insisted, standing to Yang's front between their friends. "So what's it going it going to be? Let go?" She gestured to Ruby's outstretched arm. "Or hold on just a little longer." She nodded at Blake's own welcoming hand.

As the blonde woman examined both girls, she contemplated her options.

"Choose quickly."

Yang turned to her former partner and lightly gripped Blake's hand. "Good choice," Blake encouraged with a smile.


	4. Chapter Four: Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang recounts her last goodbye to her lover.

"Then, Velvet here took me in and we both joined the police academy. We thought it would be the best way to save people inside the kingdom."

"That's a hell of a story," Ruby commented in partial shock. "The world's been a stone-cold bitch to you since Beacon."

"Nothing I couldn't handle."

Later that night, Yang and Velvet sat on the couch together in front of the television, watching an old, B-grade horror movie. As the blonde began to drift off, her handler followed suit. Blake approached the scene from behind and tapped the sleepy huntress on the shoulder.

"Still awake?" Blake inquired.

"Hm, wha...," slipped out from between Yang's lips. Her eyes creaked open to find the enigmatic angel looking back down at her. "Hey. I thought you went to bed."

"Couldn't sleep... And it looks like you could use a little help getting to bed, yourself."

"I'll be fi-" Blake cut off her ex-lover's sentence by scooping her up off the couch and pulling the drowsy girl into a bridal carry.

"Come on, dream warrior," Blake mused, holding Yang tightly. As she toted the young woman, the faunus flinched when she felt the cold, bare metal attatched to Yang's left ankle. "You're leg..."

"Yeah, that nevermore took my left foot clean off." Yang began to snicker; though she tried to hide it, the giggling was quite obvious. "But I'm all right now." Blake rolled her eyes, seriously considering dropping Yang to the floor as the taller girl burst into a howling fit of childish laughter.

Blake placed her former partner ever so lightly on the matress and pulled up the blankets over the drowsy girl. She looked around the room, eyeing the display piece atop the the dresser.

"I can't believe you kept those," Blake acknowlodged Ember Celica perched within a glass case.

"I like to have them as a reminder of my promise."

"What promise?"

**********

Yang glanced around the drab, white hospital room, her eyes finding solace in but a single thing: Blake. She stepped forward and gently pushed a stray lock of hair off of the sleeping girl's face.

"I don't suppose you're going to to change your mind about leaving, are you?" Weiss beckoned, appearing in the doorway.

"Sorry, no. I just came to say goodbye," Yang replied, holding back a flood of emotion and tears. "I found a hunting job out in Mistral. The job is a bit... messy, but the pay is good." The blonde peered at the woman standing in the doorway. Thinking back, it seemed comical that the little, rich, condescending brat Yang had met years ago had grown into such a caring, compassionate, and mature teammate who, even Yang had to admit, appeared quite easy on the eyes. Even if Weiss often held back emotion and let slip insulting remarks somewhat commonly if not frequently.

"I still think you should stay. If not for Blake, then for your sister and your friends... You dolt."

Yang unsuccesfully tried to repress a childish giggle. "Oh, come here, Ice Queen." She reached and yanked her old foil in, throwing her arms around Weiss. "I'm going to miss you so much."

Weiss returned the embrace, begrudgingly at first, but after a moment she realized that she may never see the reckless, energetic warrior again and answered the Xiao Long signature bearhug with as much force as she could muster. Just before she released the expelled huntress, Weiss noticed that her friend had started to cry.

"Y- Yang," Weiss began. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Sorry about that." The taller girl wiped her eyes, still not letting go of her only tether withholding her from a mental breakdown. "Hey, will you do something for me when she wakes up?"

"Of course."

"Tell her that I'm sorry and I couldn't face her after this. Tell her that I promise, somehow, that I'm going to make this up to her, even though it might take a while." Yang sobbed into the white haired girl's shoulder. "One more thing... Tell her I love her."

"She'll get the message."

**********

With her mane in a terrible mess, the blanket completely kicked off the queen sized bed, and only one of several pillows remaining anywhere near her head, Yang pryed open her eyes, groggily. As she wiped the sleep away from her eyes, a relaxed-looking figure sat in the easy chair across the room, in the back corner between the window and wood dresser, its legs crossed as it fiddled idly with a pocket knife.

"Wha... Blake? Is that you?" Yang, still blurry-eyed, studied the man closer. When she realized that the faunus lied elsewhere, Yang discreetly moved a hand under her pillow, only to find empty space.

"Looking for this?" The silhouetted figure asked, holding up a nine millimeter pistol that once resided under the bounty hunter's head whilst she slept. He wore a black, white, and red mask representing the face of a grimm, but it hardly helped in identifying him, as many ne'er-do-wells hid behind the images of monsters. A second, feminine figure on its knees sat before the intruder, hands behind her back and sackcloth concealing her face. This second person remained silent under the bag. She wore black yukata sleep ware that Yang found awfully familiar.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Who I am is irrelevant. I want to talk about you."

"What are you-" Suddenly taken aback in shock when she spotted the man's ears, Yang's pupils dilated as she fumbled through her nightstand drawer for her revolver, which also appeared missing. "You're a faunus."

"Indeed, but like I said, who I am is irrelevant."

Yang reached once more for a gun, this time the pump action twelve gauge under her bed. Again, she found nothing.

"I have completely cleaned this room of weapons. I know where you keep each one. In fact, I know quite a bit about you."

"You left those up there." The blonde gestured to Ember Celica sitting in their case on the dresser.

"I know enough about you to know that you won't pick those up after the atrocity you committed with them."

"Well you forgot another-" Yang felt under her left arm in the bra strap for her throwing knife.

"Don't bother."

"Dude! You felt around my bra?!" This shout made the girl on the floor flinch and attempt to break from her restraints.

"Relax, I possess no desire for your disgusting human body. Well, now that I think about it, you shouldn't relax at all. I am here to kill you and your friends after all." The intruder gripped the bag atop the hostage's head, revealing a fair-skinned, golden-eyed cat faunus, who's wavy, black hair spilled out of the head covering.

"B- Blake."


	5. Chapter 5 - Part One: Hostage

This chapter is divided into three, smaller parts for the sake of me releasing regular updates.

*********

"Let her go. Take me instead."

"I figured you to be one of those 'do-what-you-want-to-me-but-leave-my friends-alone' kind of people, but sorry. No dice. My employer wants you to atone for your sins and feel the same pain you have inflicted on so many others," the intruder spoke in a low, soft, almost mechanical voice. Yang easily spotted the armory of weapons attached to his body in the moderately bright light that poured in through the window from the surrounding city. "You must learn what true loss feels like."

"Son of a bitch, if you touch her-

"Yang, you are an officer of the law and therefore must believe in justice. You have killed so many brothers of the cause; taking these girls away from you is nothing short of fair."

"Brothers of the cause? I get it now; you're from the White Fang. A lot of criminal outfits wear those stupid masks, but only of them think they're a just cause."

"Very astute, Miss Xiao Long. But the White Fang merely employs me. While I believe in theirs ideals, I fight for the highest bidder."

"If that's the case, how much would it take to convince you to walk away right now?"

"More than you could possibly afford. Besides, you'd have half the Atlas P.D. on my heels the second I walked out the door."

Yang studied her situation carefully. The room seemed to have undergone no change whatsoever since earlier that evening save for the missing weapons. A red ball gag sat in Blake's mouth, preventing her from screaming; Yang knew if she screamed herself, Blake would not survive long enough to hear the response. Charging the intruder could only make the scenario worse. She had nothing within arm's reach to throw at the man that would hurt more than a pillow.

"Well, let's get on with things, shall we?"

"Fine. But at least let me talk to her.Let me tell her I love her one last time."

The intruder pondered this for a moment. "If you must. But make it quick."

"Blake... I love you. You are smart, beautiful, an expert fighter, and amazing partner. And to make things up to you like I said I would all those years ago, I promise you will survive tonight."

"Yes, yes, very touching. I am weeping under this mask," the hitter commented sarcastically. "But neither of you will see the sunrise


End file.
